Better Cobblestone rider: Boonen or Cancellara?

El Pistolero wrote:Gent-Wevelgem and E3 Prijs Harelbeke are a bit comparable for cobbled riders to what Paris-Nice or Pais Vasco is like to Contador. Tour is the main goal, but it's nice to win a stage race like that.

Well yes, racing to win is always nice, but should Contador fail to win a GT in '13, his season will likely be called a failure. Big stars, big target etc.

My point is should one of the cobbles riders outshine the other in the RVV + P-R campaign next year a follow up poll will likely go in the direction of who ever came out with the best results in these two races.

trompe le monde wrote:I'm just judging them on what they, and what the cycling world, would value most out of the cobbled races, Flanders and Roubaix. I'm not discrediting races like Omloop or Gent Wevelgem, just think they should be judged according to the highest level of competition, of which most serious cobbled classics racers would latch their dreams onto winning one of Roubaix or Flanders.

Let's take European football for an example. Would you say that winning the Europa Cup is just as prestigious as winning the Champions League? They're both nice achievements, but the Champions League is certainly more prestigious and much harder to win. For me, Roubaix and Flanders are like the Champions League and the other cobbled races are like the Europa League. It's not that big a stretch to make such an anology.

trompe le monde wrote:I'm just judging them on what they, and what the cycling world, would value most out of the cobbled races, Flanders and Roubaix. I'm not discrediting races like Omloop or Gent Wevelgem, just think they should be judged according to the highest level of competition, of which most serious cobbled classics racers would latch their dreams onto winning one of Roubaix or Flanders.

Let's take European football for an example. Would you say that winning the Europa Cup is just as prestigious as winning the Champions League? They're both nice achievements, but the Champions League is certainly more prestigious and much harder to win. For me, Roubaix and Flanders are like the Champions League and the other cobbled races are like the Europa League. It's not that big a stretch to make such an anology.

Am I wrong to think to this? No, at least I hope not.

Dazed and Confused wrote:Well yes, racing to win is always nice, but should Contador fail to win a GT in '13, his season will likely be called a failure. Big stars, big target etc.

My point is should one of the cobbles riders outshine the other in the RVV + P-R campaign next year a follow up poll will likely go in the direction of who ever came out with the best results in these two races.

Dazed and Confused wrote:Think we are on the same page, misunderstood you.

The thing is, Boonen is also a record holder in all the races I posted besides Omloop het Volk and Dwars door Vlaanderen. That includes the big ones.

If we're talking about best cobbles rider these other races should also be taken into account.

Ryo Hazuki wrote:horrible. boonen just the same guy as years before and this course is too hard for him. that's why he rode like a coward there were at least 3 guys stronger than boonen today and none of them won: sagan, ballan, pozzato

The Hitch wrote:Goss will woop boonens candy a[color="Black"]ss[/color] in a sprint he cares about, any day of the week

El Pistolero wrote:The thing is, Boonen is also a record holder in all the races I posted besides Omloop het Volk and Dwars door Vlaanderen. That includes the big ones.

If we're talking about best cobbles rider these other races should also be taken into account.

Personally voted Boonen this time, but mostly because of his results in RVV and P-R and his performance this year. Should Cancellara come back in '13 and crush Boonen in RVV and P-R perhaps I will vote differently. Dunno. Again my point is which way the majority will vote.

Dazed and Confused wrote:Personally voted Boonen this time, but mostly because of his results in RVV and P-R and his performance this year. Should Cancellara come back in '13 and crush Boonen in RVV and P-R perhaps I will vote differently. Dunno. Again my point is which way the majority will vote.

Topic is about 2002(Boonen's first podium in a major classic)-2012 though. If Cancellara beats Boonen next year than so be it, but it won't change my opinion that in the period mentioned here Boonen was the better of the two most of the time.

Ryo Hazuki wrote:horrible. boonen just the same guy as years before and this course is too hard for him. that's why he rode like a coward there were at least 3 guys stronger than boonen today and none of them won: sagan, ballan, pozzato

The Hitch wrote:Goss will woop boonens candy a[color="Black"]ss[/color] in a sprint he cares about, any day of the week

El Pistolero wrote:Topic is about 2002(Boonen's first podium in a major classic)-2012 though. If Cancellara beats Boonen next year than so be it, but it won't change my opinion that in the period mentioned here Boonen was the better of the two most of the time.

Scott SoCal wrote: I think FC has more raw horsepower than does Boonen and I think they both know it. FC rides like he can do anything he wants, anytime he wants. Boonen rides to conserve until its time to race, which is smart.

About what I said earlier. Cancellara has more power but Boonen is technically better.

For the readers, I'd like to mention that De Vlaeminck does not give a damn about his record being tied. He's 65 and a 65 year old has many other things to care about than this.

On the cobbles it's everyman for himself anyway. (Says De Vlaeminck lol)

I'd say the gap between RDV and Boonen is a lot smaller than the gap between Merckx and Cancellara.

Roger de Vlaeminck only won the Ronde van Vlaanderen once in 1977 and had to pay Freddy Maertens to tow him to victory... Not a very decent victory and he knows it.

Ryo Hazuki wrote:horrible. boonen just the same guy as years before and this course is too hard for him. that's why he rode like a coward there were at least 3 guys stronger than boonen today and none of them won: sagan, ballan, pozzato

The Hitch wrote:Goss will woop boonens candy a[color="Black"]ss[/color] in a sprint he cares about, any day of the week

The Father of Clean Cycling, Christophe Bassons wrote:When I look at cycling today, I get the impression that history is repeating itself: riders who are supposed to be rouleurs are climbing passes at the front of the race, and those who are supposed to be climbers are riding time trials at more than 50 kilometres per hour.

"Tom is the best spring rider of the last 20 years. But now he needs to try and win Milan-San Remo and the Giro di Lombardia like I did."
Roger De Vlaeminck in Het Niewsblad after Boonen equalled his record of four wins in Roubaix

This was pulled from the 2012 Year in Review Issue of Cycle Sport magazine as one of their quotes of the year.

The Father of Clean Cycling, Christophe Bassons wrote:When I look at cycling today, I get the impression that history is repeating itself: riders who are supposed to be rouleurs are climbing passes at the front of the race, and those who are supposed to be climbers are riding time trials at more than 50 kilometres per hour.